silk screening problem

[pentec]

hey, not sure if this is in the right place, but i recently got into silk screening shirts, and picked up a speedball kit.

the problem is that every shirt i print turns out rough and stiff feeling, not the smooth, rubbery proffesional feel. i've been using the speedball fabric ink that came with the kit, and even tried acrylic ink

is there a step i'm missing, or am i just using the wrong type of ink?

thanks in advance for any help

[Red Kittie Kat]

did you wash the shirts first? Could be the sizing in the shirts reacting with the paint?

Just a shot in the dark there

[pentec]

ya, the shirts are washed. i tried different brands too, just in case that was the problem

[Red Kittie Kat]

Did you heat set it after?

[pentec]

ya, about 5 mins

do you think a longer set time would fix it?

[Red Kittie Kat]

hmmm that should have done the trick ...... have you washed one after the heat transfer to see if the stiffness goes away?

[pentec]

yep, still no go
do you think it could have something to do with the ink i'm using?
what do u use?

[Logo-Mechanix]

I would try a diiferent kind of ink and see if that wrks, I job out my silk screening so i'm not sure if that will work. It seems you tried everything else I would have thought of so it seems the only thing left to try would be the ink.

[PrintDriver]

The rubbery feeling 'pro' silkscreen isn't necessarily the inks. It's usually part of a particular transfer process. Cut/applied lettering is much more rubbery feeling than screened ink. Printed transfer sheet process can be rubbery feeling too (and smells bad even after laundering). Both of these can be prone to cracking - more so than ink.

Unless you are doing dye transfers, you will feel some difference between the plain fabric and the inked fabric.

[evergreen]

Professional textile screen printing inks are plastisol base and are very thick and paste-like. As stated by PD, there is a distinct difference in feel and your problem may be more than the inks. You are using textile inks instead of poster type inks, right?

I am not familiar with what the Speedball kit does, but some of the other issues may be the amount of "off-contact" space between the screen and the shirt. Another factor is the color of the shirt...more light ink needs to be applied to a dark shirt than vice-versa. You may also be overheating the ink in the curing process along with many other factors...call Speedball and ask them, it's their product.

...and for the record, there is no silk involved in screen printing unless that is the textile that you're printing on. ;)

[PrintDriver]

silkscreening is a heckuvalot easier to say than polestermeshscreening.
:D

[shoulda_done_fashion]

I used to run a silkscreen shop, and when this would happen, usually it was lousy tension on the screen, or the shirt would be too cold when it was printed. TENSION: The ink 'picks' back up when the screen lifts too slowly off the shirt. The tension on the screen needs to be TIGHT! so it only sits on the shirt exactly where the squeegee runs over it. TEMPERATURE: the problem is warmth/coolth of the ink and shirt. Warm up the shirt a bit, so the ink isn't as viscous. If you are doing multi colours on a white background (if printing on a dark shirt) a full white underlay is printed, this must be cured fully and cooled (we would often run a full cycle to cool down the shirt) before the next colours go over this. Another possibility is cheap shirts. the thin polycotton garbage often have lines in the weave, and if you aren't putting much ink down, that will be a problem. It could be any of these, in any combination, or these plus the incorrect ink choice. The silkscreen ink shouldn't really feel rubbery, that sounds more like a transfer product. When screened onto the shirts, and cured properly, the print should become 'one with the shirt' haha.
Luck to you.

[pentec]

thanks for all the help

not sure what was different, but the last shirt i did turned out better

[Red Kittie Kat]

That's Great!!!

Do we get to see a pic? ;)